When We Burn (The Blackwells of Montana #1)

Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

brIDGER

K itten : I’m headed your way now. Just leaving the bookstore.

I grin and flick off the football game that I’ve had playing in the background.

Me : I can’t wait to see you.

I’m glad that she went to her book club, but I’ll be even happier when she’s here and I have her all to myself.

I pad into Birdie’s room to check on my daughter and smile when I see that she’s sound asleep with Pickles curled up right next to her. I didn’t have to do much convincing to get my girl into bed tonight because she was excited to have the cat with her. Not to mention, she’s so tired. Lethargy has been one of her main symptoms for the past year anyway, but add on to that an illness and an asthma attack all in one day, and it’s safe to say that Birdie will sleep like a rock tonight.

But I’ll check on her several times anyway, just to be sure that she’s okay .

The sound of a car door slamming comes from the front of the house, and I reach the front door at the same time as Dani.

“Hey,” she says, keeping her voice low.

“Hey yourself.” I pull her against me as I close the door behind her and frame her face so I can kiss the hell out of her. “Did you have fun?”

“It was so fun.” She grins up at me. “I’m almost sad that we’re only meeting once a month. How was everything here? Is Birdie still okay?”

“She’s sleeping with Pickles,” I inform her. “Go have a look. It’s really cute.”

Dani practically tiptoes down the hall, making me chuckle, and pokes her head in the door. When she backs out again, pulling the door not quite closed behind her, she has her bottom lip out.

“That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Come on.” I take her hand in mine and lead her farther down the hall to my bedroom. “I’m going to pamper you a bit tonight.”

“Why?”

I blink and frown down at my girl. “Because I want to, sweetheart. I don’t need a special occasion for it.”

“Oh, well, okay then.” She rubs her lips together nervously, and it makes me laugh as I take her shoulders in my hands.

“You’re the only person I know who would look nervous in response to someone telling you they want to take care of you. ”

“That’s not something that I’m used to.” Her brows pinch together. “But it’s nice when you do it.”

Jesus. There’s never a time when I forget what Dani went through as a girl, but there are moments when it kicks me in the stomach.

“Come on. Into the shower for you, and I’m going to pour you some wine. Are you hungry?”

“No, Jackie Harmon brought huckleberry tarts for everyone.”

I give her a mock glare. “And you came home empty-handed?”

She smirks at me and toes off her shoes, then whips her shirt over her head, and my mouth goes fucking dry. Her tits are practically spilling out of her bra, and I want to get my hands on them.

“If you want treats, you have to join the book club.” She unbuttons her jeans, and I have to turn away and focus on starting the shower, or else I’ll boost her up against the wall and fuck her hard and fast, and that’s not my plan for tonight. “And you have to read the books.”

With the water on, I grab her a towel and place it on the warmer, and when I turn back to her, she’s standing before me completely naked, and my cock is begging me to change plans for tonight.

Sorry, buddy.

“You’re a walking wet dream, kitten.”

She licks her lips and moves to fold her arms over her breasts, but I step forward and stop her, holding one wrist in one hand and using the backs of my fingers of the other to brush over one nipple.

“So fucking beautiful.”

She sucks in a breath, and I let her go.

“Into the shower. Do you want red or white wine?”

“Neither,” she says, watching me. “But some water would be good.”

I nod and move to walk around her, but she catches my hand, and I stop, lifting a brow as I look down into her cobalt eyes.

“Thanks.” Her lips tip up into a smile, and I know she knows the effect she’s having on me.

My sweats are tented, for Christ’s sake.

“You’re welcome.” After pressing a kiss to her forehead, I leave the bathroom and walk to the kitchen to get her a glass of water. After a brief check on Birdie to make sure she’s still asleep, I return to my bedroom and set the water on the nightstand.

I showered after I put Birdie down, so I close and lock my door, and then undress and climb into bed, sitting against the headboard with the blankets over my lap as I check my social media and emails.

Before long, the water cuts off, and then soon after, my girl appears.

Still dewy from the shower, she turns off the light as she leaves the bathroom. The lamp next to me is the only light illuminating the bedroom as she walks, still nude, around the bed and climbs in on the other side, but she doesn’t lie down or even sit next to me.

She takes the phone from my hands, sets it on the nightstand, and then, with that mischievous smile on her gorgeous face, Dani pulls the covers back and straddles me.

“Hi,” she says, wrapping her arms around my neck. My dick’s already rock-hard and ready for her. “This is the first time we’ve spent the night together since that first weekend.”

“Too fucking long.”

She leans in, but she doesn’t kiss me. She presses her cheek to mine so sweetly that it makes my chest hurt. This. This is what I’ve missed. What I’ve needed every damn night. This beautiful girl in my arms.

My hands immediately rub up and down her back. I can’t stop touching this woman. I can’t get enough of her.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” I whisper into her ear as my hands glide down to cup the globes of her ass. “We have to be quiet tonight. Can you do that, sweetheart?”

“I can try.”

I smile and kiss her neck and then shift us so that she’s on her back and I’m looming over her.

“You have to do better than try.” Lazily, I drag my lips down her neck to her collarbone. “Because I don’t want any interruptions for a long while. I’m going to worship every fucking inch of you.”

She sighs, her hands dive into my hair, and I pull a nipple between my lips, licking and nibbling on her. “Such an excellent mouth.”

I smile against her smooth skin and then work my way farther south. I haven’t had my mouth on her sweet pussy in weeks, and I’m about to rectify that right now. She breaks out in goose bumps as I kiss down her stomach, my hand ahead of the game, already brushing through her wetness.

“Fuck, baby, you’re so ready for me.”

“Always.” She sucks in a deep breath when I push one finger inside of her, arching into my touch. “Please, Bridger.”

“You’re soaked.” I groan and kiss down her pubis, pressing my lips to her clit, before I pull my finger out of her and French-kiss her opening and pull those sexy fucking pussy lips into my mouth, and her back bows up off the bed. She squeaks, but I can tell that she’s trying so hard to stay quiet.

“Bridger,” she breathes, tugging and clawing at the bedsheets. “Oh, God.”

“That’s my girl,” I murmur against her and press two fingers into her now, pushing my hips against the bed when she clamps around me. “Stay quiet, baby.”

“Not easy.”

My mouth is busy on her clit, my fingers working her over, and she’s tugging on my hair, pulling me closer to her.

“You’re so fucking delicious. Do you like it when I eat this pussy?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me.”

“I like it.”

I bite the inside of her thigh. “You know what I want to hear.”

“I love it when you eat my…pussy. ”

“Good fucking girl.” I reward her for that and hook my fingers up against that rough patch that will set her on fire and pull her clit into my mouth, working her over until I feel her muscles start to clench like a vise around my fingers.

She lets go of my hair, and I watch as she clamps her hand over her mouth, writhing as the first orgasm of the night wrenches through her. Her thighs press against me, and her upper body wants to twist away, so I reach up and hold her in place.

When she’s coming down from her climax, I kiss her soft inner thighs and lick that crease where her leg meets her center, and then over to her hip.

“You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in my life.” I kiss that sensitive spot, on the underside of her breast, and she sighs. “Your body is a goddamn wonderland.”

She starts to say something, but I cover her mouth with my hand.

“Every fucking inch of it,” I insist. “Every dip and curve and valley. Did you know that you have two gorgeous dimples, right above your stellar ass?”

“Mmph pmmph.”

I laugh and move my hand away.

“You’ll have to be more specific. There are a lot of dimples on my backside.”

I cock an eyebrow and then move closer to her face. “Well, now you’ve talked shit about my girl, and I don’t like it when someone says anything like that about what’s mine. So, you’re going to have to pay for that. ”

Those stunning eyes widen, her eyes dilate a little more, and I can tell that that idea pleases her.

“Nothing to say now, I see.” I kiss her chin, and my hand falls between her legs again, fingers brushing lightly over her clit, and she whimpers. “What do you want, sweetheart?”

“You.”

I pull my hand away, and she frowns. “I want your cock inside of me.”

“That’s better, but it’s not good enough to get you to come.” Rubbing my nose along her jawline, I drag the tip of my cock through her soaking wet slit, and her fingernails dig into my shoulders. “You have to ask me.”

“Please, Bridger.”

“Please what, Dani?”

“Please.”

I pull back from her, both my face and my cock, and wait. Dani licks her lips and looks down to where I’m holding the base of my dick, and her cheeks flush with need.

“Please fuck me.” The last two words are a whisper. I push inside of her, bottoming out, and take her mouth with mine, and she wraps her arms and legs around me, holding me close.

“God.” I bury my face in her neck, moving in and out of her in long, smooth strokes. “God, baby, you’re incredible. You’re so fucking amazing.”

I take one of her hands and link our fingers together, kiss her hand, and then press it to the bed just above her head. Her other hand glides down to my ass, and I have space to look down to where we’re joined together. Fuck me . I’ve never seen anything sexier than this.

“Touch your clit, kitten.” She bites her lip, and with her eyes on mine, her hand moves from my ass to between us, and she presses her fingertips over that little nub, making her pull a sharp breath in through her nose. Her lips part into the sexiest O , and holy shit, this might have been a bad idea for my stamina. “That’s it, baby. Ah, God, that makes you clench around me even tighter. Fucking hell.”

She’s so fucking tight, so perfect , that I can feel the orgasm building in me.

But she needs to come again first.

“Rub a little harder.” I push in, pressing against her fingers with the base of my dick, and she groans. “Yes, baby, harder. Like that. God, you’re incredible.”

“Bridge,” she gasps, and I feel it happening again, the quaking and clenching, and I know that she’s so damn close. “Almost there.”

I know what she needs. I lean in, pinning her hand right where it is, and whisper into her ear, “You are the sexiest damn woman I’ve ever fucking seen. I want you to come all over me, sweetheart. Let go. Let go, baby.”

She bites my shoulder as the orgasm moves through her now, and I can’t hold back anymore. I rock into her and push my release deep inside of her heat. Every time I’m with her I think it’s the most intense orgasm of my life, but this is it.

Every muscle in my body is clenched from the ferociousness of coming inside of this woman .

“Christ,” I mutter as I roll to my side, taking her with me, not willing to pull out of her yet.

“That’s so much better than book sex,” she says, obviously somewhat orgasm drunk.

“I hope so. Jesus, I fucking hope so.” I grin at her and pull my fingers down her cheek. “You’re so beautiful, Dani.”

Her whole face softens, and she pulls my hand to her lips, pressing a sweet kiss to my palm. “So are you, Bridger.”

“I want you to believe that when I say it. Don’t brush me off, okay? Do you think I’d have a girlfriend who’s anything less than fucking perfect?”

She snorts at that, but then leans in to rub her nose against mine. “Of course, you wouldn’t.”

“I like you here, in my bed. I’m going to keep you in it as much as possible. Birdie will be sad if she can’t sleep with Pickles.”

Now she giggles, and it makes me chuckle, too.

“I’ll clean you up.” I pull away and roll out of bed, headed for the bathroom.

“Oh, you don’t have to. I can?—”

“It’s my mess. I’ll clean it up.”

I quickly rinse myself off and then wet a washcloth with warm water and return to her, thoroughly cleaning her, and then I toss the cloth into the laundry hamper.

“I’m putting pajamas on,” she informs me as she crawls out of bed and pulls shorts and a tank out of her overnight bag .

I’ll be making room for her clothes in my dresser as soon as possible.

“Good idea.” After I’ve tugged on a T-shirt and my boxer briefs, I unlock the door and crack it open in case Birdie needs me, and then pull Dani into bed with me, and wrap myself around her. “Good night, kitten.”

“’Night, Bridge.”

“I’m so excited!” Birdie’s practically bouncing in her seat. She’s dressed in jeans and a Sidney Sterling T-shirt that matches Dani’s. Birdie’s hair is in braids, she’s wearing boots, and she’s vibrating with excitement.

It’s concert day, and my girls are ready.

“I’m thrilled, too,” Dani says, smiling back at Birdie. “I can’t wait for her to sing “Life in the Slow Lane.” And her whole new album is just so good.”

They don’t know it yet, but they’re about to be even more excited. I hope there isn’t any passing out.

“So, we’re going early for parking, obviously,” Dani says, turning to me. “But are you also being a bit of a workaholic, wanting to make sure the safety precautions are as they promised?”

“How do you know me so well already?” Pulling her hand up to my lips, I kiss her knuckles. “I’ll just check in with everyone really quick. Remington called me and told me to park at the farmhouse with the rest of the family. ”

“That’s nice of him,” Dani says with a smile. “It’s nice to know people.”

Once we make our way onto the ranch, I deviate from the signs pointing to Event Parking and pull up behind the Wild family’s farmhouse. There’s already a line of cars here, all of them familiar.

“Holden’s here,” Dani says. “He and Millie must have come early, too. Oh, and Bee’s here.”

Everyone’s here.

After I help Birdie out of the back, I guide the girls over to the shop that I know has been cleared out for this party.

“What’s going on, Bridge?” Dani asks, frowning up at me. Birdie’s walking between us, one hand in mine and one in Dani’s.

“You’ll see.”

“You’re here,” Millie says, waving us in. “Just in time. This is so fun, I’m so glad that everyone came.”

“No way,” Dani whispers as Sidney Sterling, along with her husband and several other members of the Montgomery family walk into the shop, waving and smiling. “We get to meet her ?”

“She wanted to hang with friends and family before the show,” I tell Dani, leaning down to kiss her head. “Your brother’s married to a Wild. And the Wild family is married to Sidney’s family. So, here we are.”

“Daddy,” Birdie says with a shriek. “Oh, my gosh. Look!”

I pick my daughter up so she can see better, and Sidney must have heard her because she smiles our way and waves at my daughter, who is now suddenly shy and buries her face in my neck.

I shrug at Sidney but wave back at her, and she laughs.

Dani slips her hand into my free one, and we’re sucked into the crowd of our friends and family, chatting and laughing.

And then I stop dead in my tracks because a man just walked in, and it’s Leo Nash. The lead singer of Nash.

My favorite band of all time.

“Holy shit,” I whisper, and Dani grins up at me.

“Weird, isn’t it?”

“So damn weird.”

“But also super cool.” Dani kisses my shoulder, and I notice Holden watching us. “Hey, big brother.”

“Hey.” He pulls Dani in for a hug. “Do I need to kill him?”

“No.” Dani laughs and smacks him gently on the arm. “We’re good. I haven’t seen you enough lately.”

“We’ll have dinner at the house,” Holden replies. “All of us.”

“We’re in,” I reply with a grin, and Holden narrows his eyes at me, making me laugh.

“Have you met Leo Nash yet?”

“Are you kidding? I was waiting for you. Let’s go.”

Thinking that Birdie might loosen up if we make our way to Sidney slowly, I follow Holden over to where Leo Nash is chatting with a group of guys.

“Leo,” Rem says, pointing to us, “this is my brother- in-law, Holden Lexington, and our very good friend, Bridger Blackwell.”

“Ah, I’ve heard about the fire chief,” Leo says with a laugh as he comes to shake our hands. “You gave our safety crew a run for their money.”

“Safety first,” I remind him with a grin, shaking his hand. “I’m glad we got it all worked out.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Holden adds.

“Daddy,” Birdie says, still a little shy, “can I go over with Holly and Daisy and Johnny?”

I glance over to where the Wild kids are hanging out together and set my girl down. “Sure, go have fun, baby girl.”

She runs off, and I scan the building, looking for Dani. When I find her, she’s with my sister and several of the Wild wives, along with her sisters, laughing with Sidney. She looks completely at home here, surrounded by her friends, and that sets me at ease.

“Hey, guys, I’m Keaton, Sid’s ball and chain.” The man who just joined us nods at each of us. “I’m going to hang out here, where there’s less estrogen.”

“Need a beer?” Leo asks him with a grin.

“No, I have to play tonight. Sid’s pulling me up on stage.”

“What do you play?” I ask him.

“Piano,” he replies. “I never should have shown her that I can play. Whenever I’m at a show, she makes me join her. I’m not a performer.”

“Sounds like you are now,” Holden says with a chuckle .

“Excuse me, guys.” Dani slips her hand into mine and presses herself against my side. “Can I steal my boyfriend, please?”

Fuck yes, you can have me any way you want me.

“You’re being summoned,” Keaton says, and with a nod, I follow Dani across the room.

“You don’t want to miss this,” she says, and she’s right, because Sidney has just approached the kids, and she’s squatting before them, hugging them and saying hello to all of them.

Sidney isn’t in her concert costume yet. She’s in leggings and a sweatshirt, but her makeup and hair are both done.

And my daughter has fucking stars in her eyes.

“Hi,” Birdie says quietly. “You’re my favorite.”

“I am?” Sidney smiles and opens her arms, inviting my daughter in for a hug.

Thank God Dani has the bandwidth to be taking a video with her phone right now.

“Thank you,” Sidney says and kisses Birdie’s head. “I am so happy that I came here to hang out with all of you. Are you excited for the show?”

All of them jump up and down, telling her how they can’t wait to hear Sidney sing, and it’s really the cutest thing.

“Do you guys want some photos?” Dani asks them.

“Yes!”

Sidney takes turns posing with each of the kids, and then with them as a group.

“I brought presents for all of you, and I hope you like the show. And I also hope I get to see you the next time I’m in town. Maybe we can ride horses together or something.”

“You can ride our horses,” Johnny, Remington’s son, says with a nod. “Anytime you want.”

When Sidney stands, she turns to us.

“Be sure to tag me on social media so I can share. Also, hello, handsome. I don’t think we’ve met yet.” She holds her hand out for me, and I shake it. This whole situation feels completely surreal.

“Bridger,” I reply. “Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, you’re Bridger.” Sidney turns to Dani and laughs. “My team was both impressed and irritated by your man.”

Dani laughs with her and glances up my way. “He does have a tendency to dig his heels in to get what he wants.”

“I’m right here, ladies.”

Sidney laughs again, and then she’s called over to chat with someone else.

“Did you like this surprise?” I ask Dani when we’re alone.

“This was incredible.” She rises on her tiptoes but is still too short to meet my lips, so I bend down to cover her mouth with mine. “Just like you.”